- Scent-blocking hunting clothes, decoys with fluttering wings, portable tree stands, cartridges that shoot farther and rifle scopes that beam silent lasers to gauge distance. Great technology, sure, but at what juncture do we sacrifice sportsmanship for technoship?
- sportsman to contemplate the larger and universal concepts of sportsmanship.
- Most of us view "good sportsmanship" as taking game or fish by means that are "fair."
- Is it fair to shoot a duck on the water, a pheasant on the ground or a dove on a limb?
- Do scope-sighted, in-line muzzleloaders and compound bows impinge unfairly on special hunting seasons intended for traditional blackpowder arms and bows?
- Do electronic fish finders take the "sport" out of sport-fishing?
- Just as it is mankind's unique gift to conceive, build and utilize such tools, we also possess the unique—and often troubling—gift of being able to evaluate our societal obligations and balance them against the benefits and hazards of such tools.
- One example that comes to mind is the introduction of the crossbow back in medieval times. So powerful was the belt from this infernal contraption that it could pierce the finest armor. Thus it was deemed decidedly un-Christian to employ such advanced technology against one's fellow Christians. It was perfectly acceptable, however, to use crossbows against any infidels that a Christian army might encounter.
- Using range-finding scopes as an example, their benefits are obvious when we take into consideration that range estimation is one of the very least reliable of all our learned hunting skills. At distances of up to 150 yards or thereabouts, we can usually come pretty close; farther out than that it's not uncommon for range estimates to be off by 100 yards or more, even by experienced hunters and guides.
- To a greater degree than we're likely to admit, a big reason for the popularity of "fiat-shooting" cartridges is that they tend to forgive poor range estimation.
- Even when a hunter knows the exact distance to his target, he still must apply a skillful knowledge of his rifle's trajectory, how much to aim over or under the exact spot he wants his bullet to hit, how much to allow for crosswinds and, that most basic hunting skill of all, marksmanship.
- The "eyepiece," as such, will be a screen similar to that of a digital camera, with the image of a reticle imposed thereon. The image of your target will be magnified electronically, and you will be able to take your pick of reticle options: crosshair, dot, post. The heart of the TCR aiming instrument will be a mini-computer that reads the distance input and adjusts the reticle so that it coincides with the position of the bullet at whatever distance the range finder is reading.
- Now let's consider the next generation of laser range-finding scopes, which I am certain will be on the market sooner rather than later—aiming devices that employ trajectory-compensating reticles (TCR)!
- With the TCR instrument, you'd simply load the cartridge data into the device itself and it would go to work when its range finder told it the distance to your target. It could even be programmed to allow for wind drift.
- it only duplicates the skills that most hunters possess and proudly apply.
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